In Our Opinion - Election the right move

The Ukiah City Council made the right decision this week when it opted to leave filling Mari Rodin's council seat to the city's voters.

Councilman Doug Crane made a good point that appointing someone to temporarily fill the seat could give that person a hefty advantage in any upcoming election.

And we strongly disagree with Councilwoman Mary Ann Landis that the council should have appointed now for what is almost a full four-year council term. We think local residents would not consider a choice made by Mrs. Landis and her colleagues "just as democratic" (as Mrs. Landis put it) as allowing the voters to choose. We also don't think having an election is somehow a burden to staff. It's part of the job as far as we can tell.

Having said all that, we hope that there are people in our community who will step forward to run and who will take on that wonderful American tradition of convincing others to vote for you. In return, local residents should be prepared to give financial as well as moral support to the candidates they like.

We are mindful of the fact that no one came forward to run against either incumbent in the last city council election cycle. That does, in part, give credence to Mr. Crane's belief that incumbents have a significant advantage. It also reflects, we think, the fact that the work of a city council members these days is not so much fun. Some might even compare elected service anywhere these days as rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Funding sources are down, the ability to produce new services or new parks, or new anything is nil.

But that doesn't mean you can't make a big difference in your community. You can be the one to help keep our police force intact. You can be the one who helps give local businesses relief from regulations, or a new business a quick permit. You can help figure out what we're going to do about a courthouse that will be a white elephant in a few years. You can make sure our downtown thrives. You can make sure city staff efforts are aimed more outward than inward.

We look forward to a vibrant election in March and encourage participation in one of the most important jobs in the world - making a difference in your own community.